Former leading New Zealand publisher and bookseller, and widely experienced judge of both the Commonwealth Writers Prize and the Montana New Zealand Book Awards, talks about what he is currently reading, what impresses him and what doesn't, along with chat about the international English language book scene, and links to sites of interest to booklovers.

Tuesday, January 22, 2019

Hangman

Meet Timothy Blake, codename Hangman. Blake is a genius, known for solving impossible cases. He's also a psychopath with a dark secret, and the FBI's last resort.

A 14-year-old boy vanishes on his way home from school. His frantic mother receives a terrifying ransom call. It's only hours before the deadline, and the police have no leads.

Enter Timothy Blake, codename Hangman. Blake is a genius, known for solving impossible cases. He's also a dangerous criminal - the FBI's last resort.

But this time Blake might have met his match. The kidnapper is more cunning and ruthless than anyone he's faced before. And Blake has been assigned a new partner, a woman linked to the past he's so desperate to forget.

Timothy Blake has a secret, one so dark he will do anything to keep it hidden.

And he also has a price. Every time he saves a life, he takes one…

Already sold into five territories, Hangman is a mesmerising dissection of the criminal mind and a bulletproof thriller.

'Jack Heath is set to be the next Matthew Reilly.' Tara Moss, internationally bestselling author of Assassin

Author bio:

This is the first adult novel by popular YA writer Jack Heath. Jack lives in Canberra and is the author of 19 acclaimed fiction titles for middle-grade and YA readers. His books include the real-time series 300, 400 and 500 Minutes of Danger, the choose-your-own-ending Countdown to Danger books (Scholastic), a collaboration with international illusionist Cosentino, and YA novels such as The Cut Out, a multi-award-nominated espionage thriller. His books have sold more than 100,000 copies worldwide and been translated into several languages. First published as a teenager, in the course of his research Jack has trained with firearms, performed street magic, visited morgues and prisons, travelled through 11 countries and read only books by women for a year. jackheath.com.au

The Society of Authors has demanded the Internet Archive’s
Open Library stops lending books "unlawfully" online in the UK,
arguing the US practice of Controlled Digital Lending is a breach of
copyright.

Monday, January 21, 2019

The Best Small Fictions –
an annual series since 2015 – seeks works of short fiction published within the
2018 calendar year for its 2019 anthology. Editors may submit up to five works
of short fiction of up to approximately 1000 words. We encourage an eclectic
array of styles and approaches. We seek work featuring memorable imagery,
characterization, and language. Pieces which exemplify the delicate, deliberate
craftsmanship of this short form.

Penguin Random House is exploring an editorial presence in
Manchester, possibly in 2019, in collaboration with the Northern Fiction
Alliance with potential financial support from Arts Council
England and assistance from the local City Council, The Bookseller understands.

Michael O’Mara Books is to partner with charity Breast Cancer
Now, the UK’s largest breast cancer charity, to donate a portion of the
proceeds from the sale of Rachael Bland’s memoir For Freddie: A Mother's Final Gift
to her Son.

Macmillan Children's
announced a number of promotions: Holly
West and Kat
Brzozowski have each been promoted to senior editor at
Feiwel and Friends/Swoon Reads; Anna Roberto to
senior editor at Feiwel and Friends; Julia Sooy to
editor at Henry Holt BYR/Godwin Books; Melissa
Warten to assistant editor at Farrar, Strauss Children's; Jessica Anderson
to associate editor at Henry Holt BYR/Christy Ottaviano Books; Robyn Chapman to
senior associate editor at First Second Books; and Mark Podesta to
assistant editor at Henry Holt Children's.

At Random House Children's, Janet
Foley has been promoted to director of managing editorial; Kristen Depken to
editor; and Rachel
Chlebowski to assistant editor. Megan Williams become managing editor
of Crown Children's and reprints at Random House Children’s. Samantha
Gentrymoves up to associate editor of Crown Children's.

Melanie Nolan
has been promoted to vp, publisher of Knopf Children's, filling the position
vacated when Jenny Brown left
the company last August.

MacKenzie Fraser-Bub
Collier joins the University of South Carolina Press in the
newly-created position of publicity manager. Ehren Foley joins as acquisitions
editor, specializing in southern history, African American studies, and civil
rights.

In the UK, Kate Burke has
joined the Blake Friedmann Literary Agency as a senior agent. Most recently she
was an agent at Northbank Talent Management.

Poet Mary Oliver,
83, died on January 17 at her home in Hobe Sound, FL. The author of more than
20 books, she won the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for her collection American Primitive and
the 1992 National Book Award for New
and Selected Poems.

AudioDreamscape
Media, the publishing and entertainment division of Midwest
Tape, will produce
and distribute the first line of audiobooks from Hallmark Publishing.
Twenty titles are slated for release, launching with Nancy
Naigle'sThe Secret Ingredient. Hallmark publishing director Stacey Donovan said, "As we planned our venture
into audiobooks, we sought a partner who would align with our brand values,
artistic vision, and commitment to quality. Dreamscape checked all of those
boxes and their expertise will be instrumental in this exciting new chapter for
Hallmark Publishing as we reimagine the timelessness and emotion of a Hallmark
story in audiobook form and introduce this medium to our vast audience."

AwardsHalf
Gods by Akil
Kumarasamy won The Story Prize's 2018 Spotlight Prize awarded
to "promising works by first-time authors, collections in alternative
formats, or works that demonstrate an unusual perspective on the writer's
craft."

Anand Giridharadas'Winners
Take All won the 2018 800-CEO-READ Business Book of the Year award.

Joyce Carol Oates will receive the 2019 Jerusalem
Prize at the Jerusalem International Book Forum in May, presented to a writer
whose body of work asserts "the freedom of the individual in
society."

BooksellingMalaprop's
Bookstore in Asheville, NC is changing
owners. Gretchen Horn, an employee since 2001, takes over as the majority
owner of Renaissance Bookfarm, the parent company, with founder Emoke B'Racz
remaining a minority owner. B'Racz said the ownership transition "renews
the business' commitment to a vibrant local economy."
Cincinnati's Blue
Manatee Bookstore is close to finding a new
owner. Current owners John Hutton and Sandra Gross said they received 160
inquires after announcing
their desire to sell last December (and their intention
to close in mid-January if no buyers came forward). They have narrowed the pool
down to six potential buyers, but have not yet made a selection.

AcquisitionsLas Vegas-based Histria Books has acquired Addison &
Highsmith Publishers, which will become an imprint of the former, dedicated
to works of adult fiction, including historical fiction, science fiction,
detective novels and more.